Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Plans

The City of Richardson has been working towards creating a transit-oriented development strategy for several years. The process began with visits to transit systems across the country and has involved a ULI Panel Study, station area planning and market analysis for the city’s three southern stations, the creation of the Spring Valley Station District, and the approval of zoning for a TOD style of development at the Bush Turnpike Station.

Urban Land Institute

During the summer of 2001, the City of Richardson hired the Urban Land Institute to conduct a panel study of the City’s section of the DART light rail corridor. The weeklong intensive review brought in real estate, development, transportation, and economic professionals from across the country. At the end of the week, the panel presented their results to the Richardson City Council and community and published a report of the findings and recommendations.

In 2002, the City of Richardson engaged several consulting firms to further refine the Urban Land Institute Panel Study and create station area plans for the City’s three southern stations—Spring Valley, Arapaho Center, and the proposed Main Street. In addition, a market analysis was conducted to designate the amount of development each of the stations could support through the year 2020. Below are the resulting reports from these studies.

University of North Texas Center for Economic Development and Research

Dr. Bernard Weinstein and Dr. Terry Clower of the University of North Texas Center for Economic Development and Research have conduccted two studies of the impact of DART’s light rail system on the value of land around light rail stations. Below are links to the reports created by Drs. Weinstein and Clower:

In 2008-2009, the City partnered with the University of Texas at Dallas on a land use study for a potential rail transit station along the future Cotton Belt Rail line. The plan resulting from the first phase of the project accommodates the University's long-term campus plan and presents development concepts for adjoining UTD land.